The present invention relates to apparatus and a method for applying an identity band or bracelet to the wrist of a person for example. Traditionally, a wristband carrying some identification information, such as a colour or logo, barcode, serial number, or RFID inlay, for example, is provided to a person, who then generally affixes it around their own wrist. Such a wristband operates to identify the person in a venue, such as in an amusement park, at a ski-lift and so on. It permits the person wearing the band to enter the venue or access a ride, and so on. These types of wristbands normally function as a form of non-removable identification, to be retained on a wrist, for instance, so as mark a person authorised to enter a venue such as a concert, sports match, theme park, or the like. The wristband is normally constructed to be difficult or impossible to remove, without damaging or otherwise making the act of removal or tampering noticeable. This tamper evident construction improves its security function, to prevent the identification band being swapped or given to another person once fixed around the first person's wrist.
Commonly, such a band is provided at the entrance to the venue, or when purchasing a ticket, in the form of a pre-printed strip of tough paper or plastic type of material, which is of a size suitable for being looped around a wrist, and with an adhesive patch at one end, which can be adhered to the surface of the other end of the band, to form a firm-fitting bracelet around the wrist. The fit preferably should not be so loose as to slip over the hand and be removed.
Normally, the adhesive patch has a removable siliconised liner cover that must be removed to expose the adhesive area prior to it being fixed to the other end of the band. This cover material must then be disposed of, which creates waste, and the removable cover can create a hazard if not disposed of correctly.
Also the manufacture is more difficult, and expensive, of wristband stock that contains an adhesive area, and a cover to protect the adhesive area until it needs to be used.
The area containing the adhesive, and possibly the area the adhesive is affixed to, is often deliberately weakened, such as by distressing the area with a number of slits in the material, so that any attempt to unfasten the band once affixed, further damages or destroys that portion of the material. This usually renders the band's tampering noticeable, and will usually prevent the band from being re-joined. Normally, the wristband has an adhesive that cannot easily be re-joined after its initial mating, and if the adhesive is also positioned over a distressed or weakened area, this area will be damaged if an attempt is made to open the band once it has initially been fixed together. Tampering with the band, once applied, should therefore be noticeable, and would usually destroy the integrity and utility of the wristband.
RFID inlays are commonly used to impart an RFID function to a wristband. Such RFID inlays of conventional construction utilise a small single-crystal silicon CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) integrated circuit (IC) die that is flip-chip bonded to the antenna element and flexible supporting substrate. However, this traditional method of RFID circuit realisation is often too expensive for incorporation into many highly cost sensitive mass consumer type applications for RFID technology, such as disposable single-use and short life cycle wristbands used for event ticketing and entertainment venue access control or for short-lived stored value e.g. monetary or privilege credits. The present invention also involves a preferred method of wristband RFID tag construction based on printable silicon ink semiconductor materials. This novel method of electronic circuit realization has been previously disclosed by Kovio Inc. of Milpitas, Calif., USA. This key semiconductor enabling technology is optimally suited to manufacturing very low cost RFID circuits for use in the feedstock for the wristband applicator of the present invention.
In addition, it is normally important to maximise the security of such a band to ensure that the wristband is fastened closely around a person's wrist, so as to prevent it being removed by being slipped off the wrist over the hand. A person trying to subvert the security of the wristband may try to fasten the band loosely around their own wrist, to allow it to be slipped off, and passed on to another person. The issuing authority will want to ensure a tight fit around a wrist, to prevent the band being slipped off, and passed to another person. But this snugness of fit is hard to arrange, when the user must apply the band to their own wrist. To ensure a tight enough fit, with the conventional system, often security staff will need to be employed to visually inspect the fit of the band, at the initial entry point. Any loosely fitted bands will then need to be reallocated which adds to the cost and complexity of the entry process.
In amusement parks, for instance, there may be a problem if one entry band is purchased and passed around a number of persons who share the band to take part in a number of different rides, instead of each person purchasing their own wristband. As well as reducing income to the amusement park owner in this instance, there may be safety and public liability issues, if a band is coded to admit the wearer only to rides appropriate to their age and height. If bands can be swapped to other people, then these safety restrictions can be avoided or subverted.
It is therefore often difficult for the issuer of the wristband to make sure that the band is attached closely and tightly enough to the wrist of a person so as to prevent it being removed without having to be pulled apart. In some instances, personnel have to be supplied by the event organisers to assist patrons with applying the wristbands. It is necessary to take into account the possibility of a person attempting to subvert the purpose of the band by fastening it too loosely around their own wrist, in order to allow it to be easily removed by slipping it from their wrist, over their hand. Or else, a person may accidentally attach the wristband too loosely, which can easily allow it to fall off and be lost. Or there may be other innocent explanations to cause this problem, such as applying the band over gloves, wristwatches or other clothing or jewellery, which can allow the band to be able to be removed easily from a wrist, without destroying its physical integrity.
Preferably, such an automated wristband applicator apparatus may be a desktop model, or it may be attached to a kiosk, so as to enable the redemption of an online purchase for example. It would also be useful to provide a wristband that can avoid the use of a liner cover over the adhesive portion, which would otherwise need to be disposed of. Such adhesive closures have in the past been recognised as a major problem in regard to waste disposal and occupational safety. For instance, this may occur where the removable cover strips are discarded indiscriminately to cause serious safety issues if patrons should walk and slip on the exposed slippery silicone surface of the discarded cover strips. By applying the requisite adhesive tab as an introduced component to the wristband at the time of closure via the wristband applicator several desirable safety and cost efficiencies can be obtained.
Another common complaint from event organisers is the time it takes to separate the wristbands that are manufactured in sheets and then sell the individual wristbands to a patron, given the propensity for the majority of patrons to arrive at a venue just before the scheduled starting time for an event, which creates a large crowd. This congestion is further compounded should the patrons then have difficulties in applying the wristband to their wrists. It would therefore be useful if the wristband could be provided, and preferably also applied, by means of a standalone dispensing machine, or kiosk. This would allow patrons to redeem any prior ticket purchase, over the internet for instance, and then to have a wristband applied properly to their wrists, without the need for much supervision. This would help event organisers, by reducing or eliminating queues prior to the commencement of the event. There would also be a cost saving, by avoiding the need for additional supervisory personnel who would otherwise be required to assist patrons in properly applying the wristbands.
It would therefore be an advantage if a wristband can be provided that would overcome at least some of the disadvantages of previously known wristbands, or would provide a useful alternative to these. In particular, it would be useful to provide an automated system of applying a wristband to the wrist or other extremity of a person, for instance, to consistently fasten it closely to a wrist. This system may ideally involve an integrated apparatus for dispensing and applying the wristband, and also to a type of wristband that may be applied using such apparatus.